beyondships

I just returned from a cruise on QM2 to the Caribbean from New York. One would think that with the ship leaving from Brooklyn, the majority of the passengers would be New Yorkers. However, the majority were from the UK. Apparently, this has been happening on quite a few of these cruises.

The cruise was 10 days and went to Tortola, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Thomas, St. Kitts. There were two sea days on either end. It would have been good to have a sea day in the middle (perhaps the short stop in St. Lucia) could be dropped) so as to allow passengers to recover from sightseeing ashore. However, it is a good itinerary.

QM2 is a magnificient ship. The service both in the retaurants and in the cabin was excellent. Clearly, the ship has recovered from the problems that it encountered in her early days.

One of the things I enjoy about QM2 is the enrichment program. The lecturers are always interesting and ussually worth listening to even if one is not particularly interested in the subject. This time there were two astronomoers who had tremendous enthusiasum for the topic. In addition to their lecturers, they held evening "star gazing parties" on the open decks. Another lecturer was a retired naval officer who sopke about weather at sea and about ship lore. He was also very good.

In addition to the production shows, the ship had two British comedians who were quite good. Unfortunately, the troupe from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts that is onboard during the transatlantic season is not taking part in the cruises.

In sum, it was an excellent cruise.